A Bouquet of White Lilies
by Eevetta
Summary: Shizuka's death by his own hands, his own inevitable descent into madness - that is what Zero resigns himself to in his broken future. Breaking free from his 'master's' cage, finally fulfilling the wish of a long dead woman - that is what Kaname wants to make happen in his future. But can a mysterious object from the future itself change all that? Eventual KaZe. NON-bashing!
1. Inside you'll find

**A BOUQUET OF WHITE LILIES**

**Genre: **Hurt/Comfort/Angst/Romance/Family/Friendship

**Rating: **T-16 (rating may go up in the future)

**Warnings: **cursing, war themes, and mentions of character deaths

**Pairings: **various; shonen-ai, shojo-ai, hetero, mentions of YuMe, ZeRia, and hints of Yuki/Maria, but it mainly revolves around KaZe

**Disclaimer: **Vampire Knight does not belong to me and neither does any of its characters. I do not own any of the references to other series either, but I do own the OC's that appear in this story, as well as this story's plot.

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**Scene 1:**

Look inside and you'll find...

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Zero was seething at the sight of the Noble vampires surrounding him. What right did these vampires have in telling him what to do? Apologize to Kuran? Show respect to the king of these bloodsuckers? Ha! He'd rather take a bullet from Bloody Rose and turn into dust than bow down to that arrogant Pureblood. It took a lot of effort on his part to not pull the trigger of his gun and kill that idiot blond.

"Ne, Aido, Kaname-sama told us not to do this," Shiki said with his usual monotone voice. Beside him, Rima nodded but didn't utter a word, only looking at the entire ordeal with an indifferent expression.

Yes, do be a good little vampire and listen to your dear master, Aido. You'll live longer that way. Zero's eyes narrowed when he felt a cool feeling slowly creeping up his legs. That blond really wanted to get shot that badly huh? Well, who was he to refuse? He was about to give a warning shot - with Kain seeing it and going to stop him - when suddenly, a loud rumble permeated the area.

Everyone looked up and saw the evening sky bleed a nocturne black. Dark clouds clustered together in one large swirling mass, and at the center, a faint light glowed. The air hummed with an unnatural power, causing all the vampires and Zero to feel a chill run down their spines. The small glow then burst brightly, bathing everyone within its reach, and the students had no choice but to cover their eyes to avoid being blinded. As the intense light deemed down, a loud crash followed, causing everyone to stumble.

"Wha-what the hell!?" exclaimed Aido as he started to gain his bearings after everything called down. Zero slowly opened his eyes and began to stand up with shaking legs. He leaned his hand at the trunk of a tree for support before surveying the damage, which truthfully wasn't as big as he thought, at least to him it wasn't. It wasn't like he would be the one to pay for all the damages in front of him; ruined bushes, overturned rocks, patches of upheaved grass, as well as a few broken trees. Not to mention that large crater at the cen - wait, what!?

Yup, there was now a fucking huge crater at the middle of the forest.

"Is everyone alright?" shouted a voice he was well acquainted with. Yuki burst into the scene, along with - Zero held back a growl - that damn Pureblood. Of course, why should he be surprised that his _Highness_ was not far from Yuki? "Zero, what happened? Are you alright?" she questioned her partner as she started fussing over him like an overbearing mother hen.

"I'm fine Yuki, and so is everyone else," he replied, knowing really that the Nobles were quite alright. Unfortunately. The brunette gave a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness. But what exactly was that?" She turned her attention to the large crater, and being the curious kitty that she was, started to move towards the edge of the hole. Aido too, being as curious as her, followed her example and headed himself towards the object that was still glowing in a faint light.

"Hey wait, Yuki!" Zero exclaimed as he hurried to make sure the idiot girl didn't get hurt by whatever fell from the sky. Kaname wasn't far behind him. Everyone gathered around the crater but didn't go farther than 7 feet from the glowing object. Whatever it was, it gave off such pretty lights that Yuki couldn't help but edge closer to the item. She was suddenly pulled back and met the disapproving eyes of her adopted brother.

"Zero?"

"Don't go near it, you don't know what that thing is. I'll go see, so stay here." He glanced at Kuran to give him a reluctant nod. The Pureblood returned it briefly and made sure Yuki decided not heed Kiryu's warning. At least with her, they both came to an agreement. Her safety was his most priority, so Zero didn't care when both Kain and Aido decided to follow him and check the glowing object.

"A book?" Aido piped up in question.

It was a book.

More specifically a tome covered in glowing ringlets of white colored runes to be exact. How utterly cliche, Zero thought, but still, magical runes were protecting it. The blond made to go and pick it up, but he gave a yelp and fell back when he felt electricity shock his hand.

"Hanabusa!" cried a startled Akatsuki. The blond winced at his momentarily tingling hand, but then waved off his cousin's concern.

"I'm alright, it just surprised me. But man, that was some powerful shock. What gives anyway?" he huffed.

Zero just rolled his eyes at the childish display, and turned his attention back to the book. The ringlets that were earlier glowing a burning red, were now back to their original white color. He narrowed his eyes at the writing of the runes, and for some reason, had a notion that they looked familiar. He felt a tug at the back of his head, and his awareness suddenly started to haze. Even with his foggy mind, he managed to hear someone suggest someone else to try.

_No! _A voice rang out in his subconcious. _Only you can touch it! Touch it!_ Zero really wanted to tell that voice to shut the fuck up, but his body was moving without him realizing it. Everyone paused when they saw the silver haired prefect walk up to the book and touch it. For a second, the runes glowed a warning crimson, before settling back to white and then disappearing. Zero blinked, his awareness returning.

"Wha-?" The hunter looked in confusion before his eyes rested on the object in his hands. It was really a beautiful book; lavender as its base color with fancy silver edges, and a large white plated dove, outlined with silver, was engraved at its center. A small topaz stone encased the clasp that was needed to open the book, and the pages seem to be trimmed in black. But for some reason, it felt lighter than it should have been. "How?"

"That's what I want to know Kiryu!" exclaimed a glaring blond, both upset and suspicious with the ease the hunter managed to dispel the runes. Normal, common runes were blue in color, and although uncommon, it wasn't unheard of for them to be any of the other rainbow colors. But white?

White runes were mainly the signature colors used by Pureblood families. However, there were a select number of noble families that were able to use the same color, and those runes could only be dispelled by said vampire families. It was the reason why he tried to pick up the book, as his family were one of the few who can produce white runes. So how had Kiryu, from a HUNTER family, be able to dispel them?

"Yes Kiryu-kun, please do enlighten us at such a possibility."

At the sound of the Pureblood's voice, Zero glared. Hell if he was going to tell them that a stupid voice in his head told him to pick up the stupid book. He didn't want to give them any more ammo to throw back to his face, especially if it's something that would make him sound crazy. But those were white runes that protected the book; Zero very well knew why Aido was giving him the 'evil eye'. It was well-known that only Purebloods and a selected number of noble families could produce white runes...but that wasn't the whole truth.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Kuran-_sempai_," he replied cooly to the vampire who had a glint of displeasure in eyes. He didn't give a fuck.

"Like hell you do Kiryu!" yelled Aido. "Only high-ranking vampires can both produce and dispel white runes. You shouldn't be able to!" Zero just glared. He was about to spout a retort back at the spoiled blond, but Kuran beat him to it. And he was floored with what the other said.

"On the contrary Aido, that isn't exactly true." Both Zero and Aido's - as well as some of the others'- eyes widened, but each with different reasons. Yuki just looked on in confusion.

"What do you mean Kaname-sama?"

"It's a rather tight lip secret of the hunters, but they are capable of producing white runes. There are only a handful though, like the Kiryu line. Am I not wrong Kiryu-kun?" Kaname inquired with a polite smile, one that Zero wanted to rip off his pretty little face.

"How the hell do you know that!" It was more a demand than anything. It was a hunter secret for a reason dammit! Both Aido and Ruka hissed at him for his tone of voice, but did he care? Of course not. Kaname held Zero's eyes for moment, contemplating, before answering back with a question.

"Did you know, that the Headmaster can use white runes as well? It's how I knew about it." He was inwardly delighted at the sight of the gob-smacked expression on the hunter's face. It was rare that he was able to produce this expression on Kiryu himself, as only Yuki and even the Headmaster, had been able to make it. It almost seemed...cute, for a lack of better words. It became even more entertaining when the shocked look morphed into one of murderous rage, not aimed for him or the nobles, but for the poor headmaster. He had to silently apologize to Kaien, but he didn't want to waste such nice entertainment. Without another word, Zero stalked off towards the direction of the headmaster's office, book in hand.

"Wa-wait, Zero! What about the hole in the ground!?" exclaimed Yuki as she hurridly followed her fuming partner.

"HELL IF I CARE, I AIN'T THE ONE PAYING FOR THE DAMAGES!" the hunter yelled back.

"That bastard Kiryu, rubbing off Kaname-sama like that!" Aido seethed as he gritted his teeth in anger. Ruka wasn't far off in wanting to teach the hunter a lesson in ignoring their Pureblood as well, but unlike Aido, she wasn't stupid enough to face a hunter of Kiryu's caliber by herself. She wasn't suicidal and had more self-perseverance than the idiot blond.

"Well then, shall we follow?" Kaname chimed in as he motioned towards the direction the two disciplinary members went. He didn't bother seeing if the others would, knowing that they would come with him anyways.

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The headmaster of Cross Academy was currently taking a tea break from his long hours of sorting and writing up all the paperwork that had piled up on his desk. And what a great tasting tea too, so heavenly and refreshing to a weary body such as his. He'd have to give some to his two adorable children after their patrol. It would sure help them to sleep more peacefully, especially his grumpy faced son.

He was confused though earlier, as a small earthquake had occurred not too long ago. Even if it ended as quickly as it came, it still caused a bit of panic to his Day students. So, being the kind and loving headmaster he was, he had gone to the dorms earlier and reassured everyone that no emergency procedures were necessary to take. He was worried for the safety of his two children, but he knew that both Yuki and Zero would be fine, and that they would come back to report anything dire to him immediately. Just as he was about to take another sip of his delicious tea, a loud crash from the front door made him drop his tea-cup, spilling its contents on the carpet floor.

"My tea!" Kaien wailed at the sight of his lost drink. His office door than slammed open, and the man gave a shiver at the dangerous, black aura his adopted son was emitting. And was it just him or was it even more sinister than normal? Yuki appeared behind him, and was trying to catch her breath.

"Ah, Chairman, are you alright?" she inquired as she hastily aided her father up form the floor. "Did the shaking do that?" Yuki motioned to the spilled drink. "Don't worry I'll clean it up." Kaien instantly lit up like a Christmas tree and hugged his precious daughter.

"Ah Yuki, my beloved daughter, my joy, my light!" Yuki sweat dropped as she slowly patted his back. Both jerked towards Zero's direction when said prefect slammed the book on Kaien's desk. Oops, it was bad to ignore the boy when he was this angry.

"Eh heh, what can I do for you my darling son?" The headmaster yelped when the silver-haired boy's fist smashed a hole in his desk. "Mou, Zero-rin, this desk was brand new too!" he sobbed.

"Does it look like I care? And how many times do I have to tell you that I'm not your son, and to not call me with that ridiculous suffix? Now you have better explain yourself quickly _Chairman_!"

"Eh, Zero-rin, what's with the sudden hostility?"

"Ah, I believe I can answer that Headmaster," spoke a deceptively silky voice from behind Zero. The hunter glared darkly at Kaname, but the other chose to ignore him and instead turned to Kaien. "It would seem best that we explain from the start on what transpired earlier. Kiryu-kun, I ask for you to keep yourself in check for the moment, if you would?" He was met with defiant amethyst eyes, and Kaname was preparing himself for another pointless argument, but to his surprise, the other relented.

"Fine!" He turned away and leaned against the wall, arms crossed. Kaien only gave a questioned look but smiled serenely.

"Of course Kaname-kun. And I see some of my other Night students have come too. Come in, come in and make yourself comfortable. Mind the papers and the hole on the desk, though. Would you all like some tea? This particular blend is really quite delicious, and it helps with exhaustion. It looks like you need it."

"Thank you Headmaster, I wouldn't mind indulging in some," replied Kaname as he was handed a cup. Kaien inquired to the rest of the Night class. The others, wanting to be polite in front of their lord as well as the headmaster, accepted as well. Yuki quickly went to clean up the mess on the floor, but Zero - whose temper was starting to simmer down a bit - decided to interfere and told her that he would be the one to clean it. After all, knowing her clumsy self, she'd end up slipping and bang her head on the desk or something.

"Ah, Zero's a good boy today, helping his father clean up his mess and protecting dear sweet Yuki from injuring herself," Kaien praised the teen with sparkles around him and in his eyes. He received a menacing glare and a tea stained rag to the face. Everyone just stared, some with bored expressions, some amusement, and some in baffled astonishment. Really, how rude can the prefect get by doing something like that to their own father? Adopted or not. Yet another thing to dislike about him.

"You know you shouldn't wind him up like that Chairman," commented Yuki as she handed her father a clean hand towel to wipe his face. "Especially since he's still mad at you."

"But dear Yuki, I don't even know what I did wrong. I'm positive I've done nothing to deserve such anger from my precious son. You were about to tell me all about it right Kaname-kun?" Said vampire sipped at his tea - which was indeed delicious - and gave a brief nod. He then began to tell the events that transpired a few minutes ago. Needless to say, Kaien began despairing over the damage expenses needed to fix all the mess one innocent looking book created. After the ex-hunter composed himself, the focus was now on said book that was resting innocently on his desk.

Kaien reached out a hand to the book, but just as his fingers touched it, the white runes from before appeared and immediately turned an angry red. He quickly retreated his hand just before sparks let off.

"Father!" cried out Yuki in worry. She was given a smile of reassurance and she calmed back down. Narrowing his eyes, Kaien concentrated and in no time at all, his hand glowed white and reached out again to the book. Everyone watched in fascination as, instead of trying to touch it, he started writing runic alphabet around the tome at a safe distance from the opposing white runes. Kaien's own runes gave a low hum, but soon disintegrated into dust. He sighed in slight disappointment.

"So, you really can use white runes," breathed Zero. Kaien nodded.

"Yes, my family was one of the hunter lines to be able to produce them. To answer your inquiry Zero, no, I did not tell Kaname-kun about my ability to use them. If I would make a hunch, his parents probably did. Am I right to assume as much?" he questioned the Pureblood. Kaname merely smiled apologetically.

"Forgive me, but you know my mother Headmaster, she was a bit of a chatterbox. Sometimes she would say things she shouldn't within hearing distance."

"Ah, but Juri had told me of your habit of eavesdropping as a child Kaname-kun. Such a bad little boy," chided Kaien in jest. Kaname merely chuckled, not even politely rebuking the remark. Some of the others watched in attentive awe as both their lord and headmaster traded friendly jabs and small talk at one another about fond memories.

Yuki was practically delighted in hearing more, but Zero was a bit unsettled about it. It wasn't like he never saw the two be all chummy before, it was just that they were talking about something he thought was too personal to share, right in front of the others. And by the looks of it, the nobles might be sharing his mindset at the moment. He shivered at such a thought. Not only that, the answer to his other question was ignored, but for now he'll let it slide, as his curiosity about the tome was larger.

"Were you trying to find out if your signature matched the runes, Chairman?" he cut in, not feeling guilty at all that he was being rude by interrupting them. In his own roundabout way, he was trying to get the two back on track. Reminiscing about happier memories could wait after their current problem. Realizing what the teen just did, and getting his message, Kaien offered an apology and answered.

"I was, but it seems that it does not. However, I managed to feel the rune's signature, and nowhere did I feel of any vampire aura engraved in them, so that eliminates it to a hunter family. You were able to dispel it easily Zero, as what Kaname has told me, so I believe only you can open the book."

Zero stiffed at that. Was the ex-hunter actually telling him that the signature was of his family line? But that's impossible, he was the last! He had no living relatives, and as far as he knew, he had never seen the book before, let alone created the runes. He could tell that Kaien thought so too, as well as the others, but...just the sheer possibility...

His guardian gave him an encouraging gesture, and Zero slowly walked towards the desk. He glanced down at the seemingly innocent tome, and with a tentative hand reaching out to the book, he willed his fingers to glow a faint white. He didn't do this often, as he preferred not to waste any of his energy on spells when hunting level E's, so it took him a bit of time to call out his powers. Once lit, he drew several white runes around the book like how the headmaster did, and waited as the runes clashed with the book's own runes.

His breath hitched when his runes finally melded with the book's, and instantly the protection around the book shattered like fine white glass, this time, permanently. The clasp on the book also opened with a small click, indicating that the inside contents were now accessible to be read. Everyone stared in disbelief, more so Zero as he turned wide eyes at his guardian.

"It's not possible! I'm the last! There's no way the signature of those white runes could have been of my line!" he shouted, near on edge of being hysterical. Kaien only look back with serious eyes, eyes that was all business and no-nonsense. For some reason, seeing those eyes calmed Zero down a bit.

"But it is. There's no mistake Zero, you've seen the proof right in front of you." Zero really didn't want to believe it, but as the ex-hunter had said, the proof was right in front of him.

"But how?" the silver-haired teen whispered in obvious distress.

"Maybe...maybe there's a Kiryu that went into hiding?" Yuki surprisingly offered. She hated when Zero got upset like this. His lost expression reminded her a little of 4 years ago, when he first came to live with her and the chairman. All attention turned to her and she immediately flushed. "We-well, it could be possible right? What's to say a family member didn't like the idea of being a hunter and decided they wanted out?"

It really did make a lot of sense, Zero thought, but he still doubted that someone from his family would want to bail out and disappear like a ghost. And even if they didn't want to be the ones to end a level E's life, they could have been a supporter with spell-casting to bind them still so that another hunter could finish them off. Plain and simple...but, why did Zero have this weird feeling that this wasn't the reason?

"In any case, now that the book has opened, we may as well see what's inside," Kaname spoke through Zero's preoccupied mind. Eager to see what the hell was inside such a well guarded book, Aido went up to open it, not listening to his cousin's warning. But before he could even touch it, Zero pulled it away from his reach.

"Hey, what gives Kiryu?" growled the blond.

"What gives you the right to touch other people's property without their permission, _vampire_! This book belongs to my line, so clearly, I should be the one to open and see what's inside. Be a good boy and sit back down!" He exclaimed back with a harsh glare.

"Why you!"

"Aido." Said blond stiffened when his lord's voice called his name. He glanced back and saw an unpleasant gleam in the Pureblood's eyes. "You are being rude. Kiryu-kun's correct. With the book belonging to his family line, he is entitled to be the one to open it first. Do sit back down."

"Y-yes, Kaname-sama." Dejectedly, the so called prodigy sat back down next to his exasperated cousin and Ruka, who gave him a smirk.

"Serves you right," she whispered hauntingly. She ignored the icy glare sent her way.

Zero at the meantime opened the book and was surprised in what he saw. No wonder it was so light, the tome was hallow, and placed neatly inside was a small stack of letters tied together, and a single laced gift bag. He showed his findings to the others and placed the tome back on the desk. Yuki saw the gift bag and made out to reach towards it to inspect the pretty package. She then gave a gasp when white runes suddenly appeared around the bag and Zero quickly grabbed her hand just in the nick of time. The runes disappeared, but a low hum could still be heard. Yuki breathed a sigh relief.

"Thanks Zero."

"Don't touch anything yet before I finish looking through these things," he lightly scolded her. She nodded and stood back in slight shame. Zero turned back to the still humming bag. "So, this one too huh?" Like how he did with the book, his fingers glowed and he started writing runes over the bag. But what happened next surprised everyone. Instead of melding with the bag's rune's, Zero's runic words immediately shattered. "Wh-what?"

"It didn't meld together. Does that mean this one isn't of Kiryu-kun's line?" inquired Takuma. Zero gave a frustrated sigh. So the book belonged to his line, but this bag didn't? Then what about the letters? He quickly performed the same thing on the stack of letters, but they too broke apart.

"This one isn't mine either. I felt both of them though. The bag is definitely a hunter's signature, but the letters are of a vampire's line." Everyone perked up on that.

"So, that means that maybe one of our signatures can dispel these runes. Let me try first," piped an ecstatic blond.

"No," was Zero's immediate respond. Aido gritted his teeth. Again Kiryu was getting in his way. What was it this time? "I felt it. The letter's signature was of a Pureblood line. Which one, I don't have a clue." His attention had been on Kaname the whole time he said that. Aido paused and glanced at his lord in wonder.

Russet colored eyes stared back evenly at the prefect's own - he would never say it, but they were beautiful to look at - lavender orbs. No doubt both were wondering if the runes were of his bloodline. Kaname, with a bit of trouble for some reason, turned his gaze away from Kiryu's eyes, and redirected them on the bundle of letters and hovered a hand over it. He didn't need to write the necessary runic alphabets for him to know if the signature was of his line or not. All he had to do was concentrate his powers and...

Slowly, cracks appeared over the rune protected letters, and then shattered, the pieces then dissolving into thin air. The vampire blinked in mild astonishment before touching the letters and taking them out of the tome. Instead of turning to Zero, he turned his attention to the headmaster.

"It seems this one belongs to me. Now all that's left is that one," he motioned to the still humming bag.

"We can leave that one for later. Right now, let's see what's in those letters," Zero spoke up. Kaname sharply turned his gaze to the hunter, raising an eyebrow.

"Wasn't it you who said earlier that no one has the right to look through other peoples' things without their permission Kiryu-kun? Are you going back on your words simply to want to feed your own curiosity?"

"I do have the right to know what's in them!" Zero growled back, his eyes light with fire. "They were inside this tome that was protected by MY family's line. I don't even know why or how something from your line is in it!" Kaname was about to retort something back, but a sudden cry of excitement reached their ears.

It was the headmaster.

With the bag open.

Everyone stared, more so Zero and Kaname who had now dropped their upcoming argument. Kaien saw each of his precious students' expressions and gave a grin back.

"Well, it looks like we know who the bag belongs to now."

**TBC...**

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**Author's Notes**

Well here's another plot bunny that's been begging for my attention, but with Vampire Knights that I am currently reading fics on, mainly for good KaZe stories with very little to no Yuki bashing(which is really hard). This was supposed to be a one-shot with a style that felt like one was reading a journal, but well, you know, ideas always run wild and, here we are with another multi-chapter story.

I have read the manga more than once, but, even though I like Yuki and the pairing of ZeKi, I can never stomach YuMe as the main focus UNLESS if it's a side pairing or if it will change later on. It's not because they're siblings(I like Ichiru/Zero after all), it's because I can't see Kaname ending up with anyone EXCEPT the Ancestress, and especially Zero. So seeing all those YuMe interactions that either hint or go beyond sibling love(mainly on Kaname's part), make me uncomfortable to the point it's hard for me to re-read the story again. I try though, really I do, so it's become kinda bearable.

For some weird reason though, I don't mind threesomes between the trio. Probably b/c ZeKi and KaZe are in it lol Zero is after all my favorite character in the series.

So where am I going with this? **I'm completely new to writing stories for this fandom**, so I might get faulty with events happening in periodical order, or maybe some of my information will get skewed here and there. When that happens, I hope you don't be too mean to me and instead be so kind to correct my lack of knowledge.

I tried my best to make them IC too, but Kaname is proving to be difficult; his character's very deep and have so much layers to his persona. Again, I hope you don't criticize me on it too much.

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NEXT:

_"My name is Sayori - _

_Kuran, Sayori to be precise."_

**Scene 2:**

Greetings from a Daughter

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**Please read and review!**


	2. Greetings from a Daughter

**A BOUQUET OF WHITE LILIES**

**Genre: **Hurt/Comfort/Angst/Romance/Family/Friendship

**Rating: **T-16

**Warnings: **cursing, war themes, and mentions of character deaths

**Pairings: **Various; shonen-ai, shojo-ai, hetero; Main: KaZe, Side: YuMe, ZeRia, hints of Yuki/Maria, plus others

**Disclaimer: **Vampire Knight does not belong to me and neither does any of its characters. I do not own any of the references to other series either, but I do own the OC's that appear and this story's plot.

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**Scene 2:**

Greetings from a daughter

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"Father?" inquired Yuki, eying the laced package in her guardian's hand.

"Ah, as I heard Zero-kun saying that this bag had a signature of a hunter line, I thought it wouldn't hurt to try. And what do you know, it did work," he chirped, slowly taking out what was in the bag.

It was a pendant.

What greeted their eyes was a smooth white glass marble, encased in solid gold ringlets and fastened on a silver chain necklace. Aidou was a bit disappointed. That was it? All the trouble for a simple pendant? It was beautiful or course, but he thought it would have been much grander than something like this.

"Oh look, isn't it pretty?" Kaien gushed as he held it up to the light. The marble sparkled in different colors, and everyone suddenly felt a wave of calmness wash over them for some reason. Kaien lowered the stone and further inspected it over, all the while continuing to gush how sparkling it was. Yuki was not far from joining him, and everyone could only sigh at the duo's behaviour. They were father and daughter alright.

"So, the tome belongs to Kiryu-kun, the letters, to Kaname-sama, and the bag, the headmaster? Isn't that a bit strange?" mused Takuma.

"A bit strange Ichijou? I would say something suspicious is going on here! I can understand if an item under the Headmaster's signature could be present in one of Kiryu's possession as they are both hunters, but how in the world did a Kuran possession get inside it too?" rebuked Aidou.

"Well, the headmaster and Kaname-sama's parents were friends right? So it isn't that difficult to figure out their family's connection. But I'm not sure with Kiryu-kun's family. Was there a time your parents might have crossed paths with the Kurans?" This, Takuma inquired to the silver-haired hunter, but with caution. Mentioning anything about Kiryu's family was one topic that the hunter never willingly liked to talk about. Luckily, Zero only knitted his brows together.

"It's a possibility, but if they had, they never mentioned it. It's also a possibility that an ancestor of mine could have had some ties to the Kurans, as loathe as I am to admit it." And it was a big possibility. Who was to say a family member actually got in good graces with Kuran Kaname's parents or grandparents for that matter? He didn't want to believe such a thing. It was a sickening thought that a hunter would really want to be friends with vampires, let alone Purebloods, but...

Zero looked towards his adopted father and knew that there really was at least one hunter who had close ties to a Pureblood family. The headmaster at times would speak of past friends that have long gone, and the sadness and grief he'd shown was very real and rang true. Maybe he will never understand his views on feeling sorrow for losing friends that were vampires, but he could sympathize with the headmaster when it came about loosing important people in your life.

Kaname was also thinking about Takuma's earlier words about possible ties between his family and Kiryu's. True, it's something not impossible, and like Kiryu's parents, his own parents might have crossed paths with hunters of the Kiryu line, but didn't bother to mention it to him. Maybe because the said hunters were long gone, and both Juri and Haruka didn't want to open old wounds? He continued to ignore the conversation between his followers and Kiryu, and instead turned towards the bundle of letters in his hand.

Could there also be a possibility that their many questions lied within any one of these letters? Wanting to find out, he quickly, but with great care, untied the black ribbon wrapped around the bundle and set it on the desk. He shifted through each of them and was surprised, suspicious, yet fascinated that each envelope had names of everyone in the room at present, with the exception of a letter belonging to someone he had heard about, but had never met. Finally on the last envelope, he noted that it harbored no name, but a quote:

**"Hope for the future"**

"Kaname-sama, did you say something?" Kaname realized he said the words out loud and looked up to see Takuma's worried and curious expression.

"Each of these letters belongs to each of us," he replied as he held up the bundle in his hands. Everyone started at that.

"Me too Kaname-sempai?" asked Yuki. Kaname nodded and handed her her envelope. He then proceeded to do the same with everyone else's letters until he only had in his hands his own letter, the the letter belonging to the person not in the room, and the letter with the weird quote.

'Could this day not get any weirder?' thought Zero as he sighed and looked over his envelope, the words, 'to the Silver General, Zero Kiryu', glaring back at him. Silver General? What the heck was that all about?

"To the Chilly Academic, Hanabusa Aidou," the blond noble read on his letter. "I didn't know I was called such a thing. It's fitting I guess. What does your say Akatsuki?" The tall red-head merely showed his envelope and Aidou couldn't help but chuckle. "To the 'Wild Fire', Akatsuki Kain'. Man, whomever gave us these nicknames seems to have a literal sense of humor. What did they call you Ruka? The 'Obsessive Fangirl'?" He only smirked at the deathly glare he received from the female vampire.

"For your information, mine's much more sophisticated and less degrading than a mere 'Fangirl'." She held up her letter, and Aidou could make out the words 'to the Illusionary Rose, Ruka Souen,' written on the envelope.

"Wah, I'd say that's actually fitting for you Ruka," commented Ichijou, grinning also at the title he was given, 'the Noble Swordsman'. Ruka smiled a little and looked to her Vice President's own nickname.

"And yours kinda fits you to a 'T'. You're always so _noble_ in everything you do, and you can't even seem to disappoint those Day class girls if you could help it." The pale brunette's words at the end turned to a sarcastic note, making Ichijou sweat drop. He and the others then questioned the last three Nobles of their titles. Rima's was 'the Silent Nymph', Shiki's was 'the Blood Bender', and Seiren's was 'the Graceful Assassin'. All three only held amusement with the nicknames they were given, as it really hit the mark about themselves. They all then gave inquiring gazes to their vampire leader.

"I'm afraid mine's not anything special. I've been given the title of 'the Pureblood King'."

"Ah, but Kaname-kun, it fits you so well," praised Kaein. Kaname merely gave a smile.

"And yours as well Chairman; a shorter way to word your much renowned title?" For indeed, the words written on the Chairman's letter was, 'to the Fangless Vampire'. Kaien just chuckled, a tiny tiny undertone of bitterness just lying underneath, something that you couldn't really hear if you didn't know it was there in the first place. The only ones who caught it were Kaname and Zero. It didn't take long for the ex-hunter to regain his chirpy self though, as he now was asking Yuki what title she was given.

"Mine says 'to the Warrior Princess, Yuki Cross'," stated the brunette prefect. Warrior? Her? Zero had to hold back a snort as he imagined his adopted sister dressed in armor with a sword strapped to her side. Yeah right, Yuki was the last person he'd ever think of as a warrior. "Hey, you just laughed at me didn't you!?" Yuki exclaimed in indignation, pointing accusingly at Zero.

"I don't know what you're talking about," the hunter feigned ignorance, crossing his arms and turning his head away. He could practically feel the Pureblood's intense stare directed towards him, probably mad for upsetting Yuki. Damn overprotective Pureblood, he should already know that this kind of banter was normal between him a Yuki.

"Na uh! You totally were laughing at my title. Fine then, let's see if yours is any better!" Before he knew it, the brunette snatched Zero's own letter from his grasp. "Oh wow, yours _is_ better and makes a lot more sense than mine, unfortunately. 'The Silver General' has a nice ring to it don't you think?" Zero frowned.

"How does it exactly make sense? It makes me sound like that character from Final Fantasy VII. What was his name? Sephiroth?"

"Exactly! You should cosplay him one of these day, I think you'll look nice in an all leather costume, a replica of Masamune included," she grinned mischievously.

"Yuki, that's off topic, and no way would you ever catch me in that kind of get-up." Yuki gave him a challenging look.

"Just you wait, I will!" Zero snorted, yet inwardly smiling at her antics.

"Silver General?" chuckled Aidou. "Really Kiryu, you? A general? Of what, the Association? With what you are, I doubt they'll let someone of such poor upbringing make you a captain of anything, let alone a general. After all, we wouldn't want to leave more promising candidates in the hands of someone, untrustworthy. You never know what they'll do if you leave them unattended," he smirked with a subtle cruelty, wanting to rile the hunter up. Amethyst eyes flared with hate, and he was about to point Bloody Rose at the vampire, but he stopped short when a loud slap resonated in the room.

Aidou blink out of his stupor and touched his red cheek. He looked to see Yuki's brown eyes glaring back at him. For a moment, just a moment, he saw her eyes change into the same shade of russet-brown as Kaname-sama's eyes, and it sent a momentary chill down his spine.

"Yuki?" Kaname was surprised. He didn't think she had it in her to actually slap a vampire like that. But he had to admit, Aidou went over the line with that one; both taking a jab at someone's dead parents, as well as alluding to Kiryu being an ex-human in front of the others (how did Aidou find out anyways?). Zero had a right to be angry, but for Yuki to have defended the hunter in his stead like that...Kaname unconsciously clenched his fist.

Yuki didn't know what came over her, but Aidou-sempai had went over the top with that remark. Poor upbringing? Untrustworthy? Zero was the most trustworthy person she knew. She may not know anything about his time with his family when they were still alive, but Zero was the way he was because of how he was brought up. He may act mean, and may tease her a lot, but he was kind and caring. He was always there for her when she had a hard time sleeping or when another person decided to pick on her simply because she was the headmaster's daughter. How dare Aidou-sempai say something so hurtful!

"Aidou." Said blond gazed back at his lord to see displeasure once again reach his eyes. "You've been rude enough this evening as it is, and right in front of the headmaster. Please do tell me why I should not have you cleaning all the bathrooms of the moon dorms? By yourself (an invisible arrow struck Aidou)? And in a janitor's outfit (another arrow)?" Most of the other Nobles were giving him sympathetic looks, but as always, Ruka gave a most satisfied expression. Score another one for her.

Oh burn, Zero thought. He wouldn't admit it to the Pureblood in a million years, but it was entertaining to see the blond be put down in his place. He then glanced to Yuki who was still glaring at the blond, and he couldn't help but feel warmth take hold of his heart. She didn't need to do that, he could take care of himself just fine, but it was a nice gesture nonetheless. He touched a hand to her shoulder and got her out of her angry haze.

Yuki looked back at him, and she could read in his eyes his gratitude, but there was also a scolding undertone behind that expression. She decided to let Kaname-sempai handle the blond and went back to her still spellbound father. Needing something to distract herself with and to calm herself down, she picked up the pendant and started looking it over. She brought it to the light, and once again, she felt that soothing aura wash over her. It felt really good, and her mood immediately lifted.

She then blinked when something in the marble started to appear. Slowly, a black butterfly brought itself into existence and flapped its wings. Surprised, she fumbled with the pendant, trying hard to make sure she didn't end up dropping and breaking it. She breathed a sigh of relief once she had it secure in her hands. She looked inside the marble again and saw the same exact butterfly, but this time, is began to glow a white, and soon growing brighter by the minute. Activity everywhere stopped as their attention was brought to the now glowing marble.

It shot towards near the door and hovered over the ground. Glowing black butterflies then started swirling around the pendant before coming together to form a shadowy figure. Everyone tensed and was on high alert. Zero stood in front of Yuki and the chairman, Bloody Rose now in hand. The Nobles encircled their lord and stood by and ready for any danger that would befall him. The form was soon complete, and the body, solid.

It was a young girl about 13 years of age; with dark brown hair and a familiar set of russet colored eyes. Her beige winter coat was pristine and spotless, and the dark grey fur trimmings contrasted greatly against her peach colored skin. At the sight of the gathered people in front of her, a lovely smile graced her lips. The girl was rather beautiful and Yuki couldn't help admire her looks, but she was also an unknown. Still, the smile didn't seem deceitful, rather soft and gentle.

"I bid you a good evening, hunters and vampire lords and ladies of the past," the girl greeted with a voice filled with confidence. The way she spoke in that tone of voice made Kaname feel a bit uneasy for some reason. Narrowing his eyes, he decided for everyone that he would be the speaker against this girl.

"Who are you? And what do you mean by the past?"

"My name is Sayori, Kaname-sama," the girl answered with a small bow, paying no heed to the small gasp that was heard. "Kuran Sayori to be precise."

"What!? But that's impos - " Aidou was cut off of his accusation by the Pureblood's hand, signaling for him to stop. With a warning look telling him that he was walking on very thin ice, the blond settled back down.

"I do not recall having any past relatives that bore your name, and I would know if there were any other Kurans still living besides myself." Yes, say you're the last of your family when one is only a few feet within your reach. Lie to everyone's faces and not tell them that your demented Uncle is half-alive and waiting for his moment to strike in revenge.

The girl in front of him though, he could tell, wasn't lying about being a Kuran. She had all the features of the Kuran line; from her long dark brown hair that ended in waves, right down to her facial structure of nicely sculpted lips and high cheekbones, as well as the way she presented herself; tall, proud, light, and brimming with confidence and power. He also could not ignore the knowing glint in her eyes when she discretely gave a glance towards Yuki. He inwardly tensed at that, but her eyes said it all that she had no bad intentions for his 'dear girl'. He was still wary though.

"I exist not of the past nor of the current present. I have yet to be conceived in this timeline." And there was the bombshell. Sayori knew of the current thoughts dancing around everyone's heads. 'It was impossible', 'there's no such thing as time travel', 'she was crazy', and the list goes on. However, three expression told her otherwise, and those three were the ones who would be able to rebuke the others' accusations.

"Time travel has been the stuff of legends and wishful thinking. When one does something wrong, they would wish to go back to that moment and fix their mistake. Everyone wishes to fix the many mistakes in their life, and that gives motivation for people to create machines and maybe even spells that can transcend space and time. But it's impossible right? Because such a phenomenal thing does not exist right?"

"But clearly, here you are." It was the silver-haired hunter who surprisingly, remarked. He for one did believe that time travel was possible, but even he knew how dangerous tampering with time could lead to. It wasn't definite that you'd end up in the exact place and time of your choosing. You could end up farther back than where you intended to go, or even, instead of the past, you could end up stuck into the far future.

The girl gave a soft smile to the hunter, one that was very familiar to Zero, but exactly from where?

"Yes, here I am, right in front of you all, and in the flesh. But my existence, my soul, is solely dependent on this pendent. Without it I remain an empty husk, and if it is destroyed, then I will die." At that, Yuki felt a tightening in her chest. To only exist thanks to a small trinket, and if she were to be parted with it, she would be like a living doll. Horrible, terrible. That was no way to live! Suddenly, Yuki wanted to cry for this poor girl, wanted to wrap her arms around her and tell her that everything was going to be okay.

"You are my daughter or at least a grandchild if you are insinuating that my bloodline still exists in the far future." Kaname's voice cut right through the sullen air, his voice cool and calm as he continued to gaze steadily at the girl. His tone was firm and without any hesitation or doubt. Everyone else, especially the Nobles, stared wide-eyed.

"You are correct. I am indeed your biological child, Father," Sayori replied with another smile, happy that her younger father would come to that conclusion quickly without her saying it outright.

Kaname released the breath he didn't know he held in. This girl was from the future. She was his child - his own flesh and blood - and his heir. But was it with Yuki? Did he decide to go with his plan to awaken her in the near future? Or did he in the end chicken out and leave her as a human, free from the cage of the beings known as Purebloods? Kaname did not favor the idea of not only being stuck in a loveless marriage, but also with another female Pureblood that wasn't Yuki. He was afraid to ask.

"How?" was his only response.

"By the use of the 3 Forbidden Spells." Her answer floored everyone, except Yuki who of course was practically clueless when it came to these things.

"I thought they were just myths," mused Takuma. Stories about how these spells were both wondrous and dangerous, were used a lot in bed time stories. Even his grandfather, although initially interested, told him to never consider the idea of the spells being true. So he didn't, but that didn't stop him from asking others to tell him more stories based around them.

"No, they are not. Their history is a true as it can be."

"Um, what exactly are these forbidden spells?" inquired Yuki nervously. The dark brunette girl graced her with a small smile. It seemed to calm the prefect, and Yuki gave a small smile back.

"The forbidden spells are as their namesake, forbidden. The ability to travel through time and space, the ability to tie one's soul to an object, and the ability to change vampires into humans. Supposedly they were created secretly during the Pureblood Wars as a last resort to end it. But the prototypes were too unstable to use, and not to mention the complex ideas and functions were far too advance and seemingly impossible to create at that point in time. In the end, they were scrapped...or at least that is how the stories go, which is false by the way," Sayori mentioned to the Nobles who were still stunned by the idea of a bedtime story being real.

"We found out the truth. The Pureblood who came up with the ideas for the spells had secretly given her most faithful followers her work for both safekeeping, and with the hope that someone in future could finish her work for her. That Pureblood was the same one who had produced the first generation of vampire hunters." At the mention of _her_, Kaname froze for a second before hiding himself back behind the blank mask he always wore.

He knew this, that was for sure. _She_ had entrusted one of _her_ spells into his care, the spell that could change any vampire into a human. Haruka and Juri's parents were the ones who tried to complete the spell, and only managed it to a certain extent. The idea was to find a way to change vampires into humans without a sacrifice, but that wasn't achieved, even by his parents. He himself had been on it on and off, but he hardly had the motivation nor the energy to continue. He had always wondered though, of the other two bloodlines _she_ entrusted her other two spells to. He had never bothered to find out, and only didn't press the matter, because _she_ had asked him not to.

"There was a reason that each of the objects; the book, the pendant, and the letters, were from three different bloodlines, the three bloodlines that are now present in this room, and whose family have in their possession each of the Ancestress's spells."

Kaname's eyes widened and turned towards the silver-haired prefect and headmaster. Both of them were also shocked at the revelation, it seems. The Pureblood's eyes narrowed specifically at Zero, who noticed and glared back. So _she_ entrusted one of her spells to the Kiryu line...

Of course...why didn't he think of them sooner? The Kiryu Ancestors were indeed extremely loyal to her despite their obvious loathing of the Purebloods. He got along with them fairly enough, but only because he was a comrade. Yet, they always watched him like a hawk, just waiting to strike should he ever turn on them. And that's where the ties between the Kuran and Kiryu began...in the past.

"Yes? Is there something you want to say to me, Kuran?" Zero rudely inquired the staring Pureblood. Kaname merely raised an eyebrow.

"I'm just surprised that your family happens to have one of the forbidden spells, but I don't think I should be. The Kiryus have always been loyal to the cause of eradicating vampires." He wasn't trying to take a jab at the hunter, he was merely stating the truth. He was surprised again when the hunter didn't lash back and only pointed out his own simple truth, although in a very crude manner.

"And I'm surprised that with you being the last, you now have the spell to do as you wish. You aren't thinking of using it in the near future by chance?"

"And are you with yours? Since you are too the last of your blood?" Zero's eyes narrowed.

"I would never! I'm not that stupid and desperate enough to mess with time itself. It's too fickle, and the consequences, too dire!" The prefect then realized his mistake. He had just announced to everyone in the room on which spell his family owned. Kaname gave a small triumphant smile, pleased at knowing which spell the Kiryus had in their possession. Which means, the last spell, the power to contain souls, was entrusted to Cross's family line.

"The power to traverse time and space, to contain souls, and to give vampires, a human life. All three of these are spells that must never be attempted and never be used on a whim or for petty reasons. We all knew this, and yet in the end, we dared to complete and use them." She looked at everyone in the room straight in the eye, more so her father.

"I don't regret what we did, not one bit."

Silence, and then...

"Why are you here? What do you hope to achieve by using the power of time? How did you even acquire the spell in the first place?" Zero questioned the young Pureblood, ignoring the warning stares from the other vampires. Sayori turned to the hunter and gave him an intense look, a look Kuran had given to him many times, come to think of it.

"Why else would we use the power of time if not to want to save the future? Your future? The future I come from no longer exists or holds any meaning. Everyone I love and care for are dead and either scattered in the winds or buried deep in the ground, or are dead and in the belly of savage creatures that many in the future have come to fear, and I'm not talking about vampires."

"Savage creatures?" Ah Yuki, always the curious kitten. "Much more scary than level E's Sayori-chan?" At the other's widened eyes, the brunette realized her slip up and started apologizing to the young Pureblood. Sayori only chuckled, and seemed not to be offended at all.

"It's fine, you can call me that. You always did in the future...Yuki-chan." Here, Sayori gave a side glance to her father to see his reaction. To many, it seemed like he hardly reacted at all, but Sayori knew her father. With not calling Yuki her mother, the young Pureblood knew without a doubt that her father was having an inner turmoil about the issue of who he married. Was it Kuran Yuki he married, or some other Pureblood like Shirabuki Sara? She deigned not to speak about it at the moment. He'll find out later anyways.

"Sayori-chan it is then!" Chirped the gleeful brunette, ignoring her adopted brother's warning aura about being buddy buddy with a Pureblood vampire. Especially if it was the child of _Kuran_.

"And to answer your question Yuki-chan, due to unforseen circumstances, the future gave rise to creatures who prey on anyone with vampire DNA, so both vampires and hunters are their main course. They drink not only the blood but eat the flesh as well." She could see everyone blanch at that. To think, there would be creatures that actually fed off of vampires as their main meal. It was a sickening thought even to Zero. "They are called, Duras."

"Duras," Kaname muttered under his breath to test out the foreign word. "I have to wonder what these unforeseen circumstances are, and how it ties in with all of us." These Duras monstrosities did not sound very pleasant at all, but surely both the Association and Council would do something about it, no matter how much he loathed the current elders. They were after all always trying to uphold a good image to their names. Using these Duras for that shouldn't be a problem.

Sayori sighed and strolled closer to her father. Aidou who had guarded her father from the front, reluctantly backed down when she gave him the exact same piercing look Kaname-sama usually gave after he did something his lord didn't like. She turned back to her father and pointed to the remaining letters on the desk.

"The one that says 'Hope for the Future', please open it." Her father gave her a questioned look, but did as she asked. Like with the black ribbon, he neatly opened the envelope and took out its contents. Inside a cd case lied a compact disk with the word 'Hope' written across it in black marker.

"This disk has all the answers you seek. The reason why we used the power of time, how we managed to obtain it, what exactly are Duras and how they came to appear. Call it a biography if you will. There is also more than just these facts. Watching this video will reveal deep secrets from each of you, secrets you either are trying so hard to keep from others, or secrets that you may not even know you had. Especially you, Father and Uncle Zero." She gave each of the two a look that clearly said, 'are you ready for this?'.

Zero was momentarily startled when the Pureblood called him Uncle. Uncle? Him? To a Pureblood? His bewildered expression at being called an Uncle by a Pureblood child was washed away to an even more confusing problem. What did she mean if he was ready? Ready for what? As far as he knew, he didn't really have that big of a secret other than him being a vampire. But the other Nobles were bound to find out sooner or later, so it really wasn't a big loss. Beside, he had a feeling that both Ichijou and even Aidou knew, but have yet to bring it up. And that was saying something, as Aidou used against him any dirt he could dig up. As a whole, they might end up demanding him to be part of the Night class, but he'd fight tooth and nail against them should that ever happen.

He turned to Kuran and immediately saw the panic in the other's eyes, but they were concealed rather quickly. Zero thought that he would have liked seeing such an expression on Kuran, as he knew that the Pureblood would have many secrets that he even keeps from his followers. But, it terribly didn't suit him, and was downright just plain wrong. He briefly caught Sayori's eyes and soft smile on her lips. Really, that smile really reminded him of...

No, Kaname was definitely not ready for this. He never calculated that this would happen, not now of all nights. It was too soon to divulge his plans to everyone, let alone let them know about Yuki's real heritage. He couldn't risk her safety, knowing that Kiryu was in the same room. Not that the boy would actually shoot his adopted sister, but he didn't want her to be hurt just because of Kiryu's feelings towards Purebloods. He caught his future daughter's eyes, who had nothing but full sympathy and understanding for him.

_Are you afraid on what they'll think of you?_

I am.

_Are you afraid Yuki will hate you?_

Yes.

_You don't want them to know exactly who you are?_

No.

_Why?_

Why? Why indeed.

_Aren't they your friends?_

Friends?

_The others...aren't they your friends? What's there to be afraid of? They'll understand._

They won't.

_Really? Do you honestly believe that they'll turn on you, they're precious Pureblood?_

They only follow me because I am a Pureblood.

_Truthfully? Do you think them to be that shallow? They are your friends._

Kaname still had an uncertain look, and Sayori only gave him an encouraging smile, a smile that reminded him so much of... He took a glace towards his _friends_ and saw, really saw the worried and concerned expressions in their eyes, even the usually stoic Seiren. _For him_. There was still great fear gripping down his body, but...

"Headmaster, may we use your living room to watch this?" Kaien, who surprisingly was quiet throughout the ordeal, only gave an encouraging grin to the president of the Moon dorms.

"Of course of course Kaname-kun, I'll even make dinner for you all."

"NO!" cried Zero, Yuki, and even Kaname and Sayori. The chairman raised an eyebrow in surprise. The Nobles acted no better.

"We appreciate the gesture Headmaster, but, by the way Sayori is cautioning us about the video, there may be certain parts that may cause us to...loose our meals," Kaname reasoned quickly, taking a glance to his daughter. Sayori nodded.

"Yes, it's just as Father says Uncle Kaien. I'm sorry, but we wouldn't want all your hard work to only end up as messy stains on the carpet floor," she chirped, while the other vampires and Yuki turned pale at the implications of her words. Immediately, crocodile tears started falling down the headmaster's face, and his eyes held sparkles. He startled the young Pureblood by glomping her.

"Oh Sayori-chan, so thoughtful, and so kind, like my dear precious Yuki!" Said girl sweat dropped as she gave an awkward smile and a pat to his back. Yuki sighed and Zero scowled. Suddenly, Kaien felt a strange shift in the air. He looked and saw Kaname smiling at him, but for some reason it felt cold. The Nobles started to shuffle nervously, especially Aidou who was inching himself away towards the door, knowing personally what exactly that smile meant.

"Headmaster, you are making Sayori a bit uneasy. Would you be so kind as to release her." It wasn't a question, that, Kaien managed to figure out quickly enough, but he didn't have the vaguest idea why Kaname-kun seemed to be upset with him hugging the cute girl. Oh, maybe that was why. Was dear Kaname-kun jealous that he got to hug his daughter first before him? Aw, now wasn't that such an adorable thing? He smiled at the Pureblood with knowing eyes (ha, he made Kaname-kun's eyes twitch!), and released his bear hug from Sayori. The young Pureblood smiled apologetically to the headmaster.

"Don't worry about Father, Uncle Kaien, he's still a bit tense." The girl then walked over to the fuming Moon dorm president, and tentatively touched her father's arm. Kaname looked at her with eyes still full of displeasure, but they - unconsciously - soften as he continued to stare into her warm gaze. "Let's go, Father." And with that, she took his hand and lightly tugged him towards the living room.

Everyone watched as Kuran's lips twitched up with a smile, a smile Zero only ever saw directed at Yuki. And for once, since the time he first met the infuriating vampire, he ignored, _ignored_ Yuki completely. He should be glad that Kuran's attention was currently not on his adopted sister, but instead on his newly found daughter. That was how it should be, as Sayori was his flesh and blood. So why did he feel so...

"Zero?" Yuki's gentle voice broke through his thoughts. She gave him concerned look but brushed it aside.

"Come on," he muttered before following everyone out of the headmaster's office and into the living room.

**TBC...**

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**Author's Notes**

Here's chapter number 2. I hope this one was more exciting than the first chapter, or at least it's making you excited for the next one. Chapter 3 is where the fun starts, and I'm already almost done with that one, and so far it looks like it's going to be a much longer chappie than the first 2.

So now you can see why this story's a semi time-travel fic; the tome and its contents came from the future, a future that's hinted to be a rather bad one. Sayori's looks is based off of Yuki's daughter in the manga, so you know where to look if you want an image of her. She's younger in this story though.

Now I present to you some questions for you to answer...if you want.

**Questions**

1) Can you guess why I named the girl Sayori?  
2) Can you guess how the 3 Forbidden Spells was used on the tome and Sayori?  
3) Do you think you can guess what other anime series will make their appearance in this story? I've only planned 2 of them as the main crossovers, but there might be some others hidden away. If you read closely, one of the main ones is mentioned in this chapter.  
4) What do you think of their titles? Especially Yuki's? Just to say, this is a title given to her future self.  
5) Am I doing okay with the characters? Their personalities and responses to the happenings so far?

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NEXT:

_"Oh, but my dear Zero, both you and Kaname give ME cavities everytime you two act mushy together, right, Maria-chan? They can't seem to get enough of each other's attention, and their wandering hands don't seem to want to stay put." _

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**Scene 3:**

A Shocking Prelude

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Please read and review!


	3. A shocking prelude

**A BOUQUET OF WHITE LILIES**

**Genre: **Angst/Hurt/Comfort/Drama/Romance/Family/Friendship

**Rating: **T-16

**Warnings: **cursing, mature themes, and mentions of many character deaths in later chapters

**Pairings: **Various; shonen-ai, shojo-ai, hetero, mainly mentions of Kaname/Yuki, Zero/Maria, and **Kaname/Zero**

**Disclaimer: **Vampire Knight does not belong to me and neither does any of its characters. I do not own any of the references to other series either, but I do own the OC's that appear and this story's plot.

**Note: **Present time Zero, Kaname, and Yuki will be referred to by their first names, while their future selves will be referred to by their last names (Future Yuki will be Cross, not Kuran, as the others don't know yet that she's a Kuran), just so that I'm not being repetitive with saying 'Older so and so' or 'Future so and so'.

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**Scene 3:**

A shocking prelude

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Sayori was now fiddling with a weird gadget in her hands on the coffee table, her father hovering over her like a second shadow on the girl's left. Aidou was watching in fascination over the procedure from where he was seated on Kain's left, and Ruka sitting on his cousin's right. Takuma comfortably found himself sitting next to Kaname on his right, and on the couch next to him, both Shiki and Rima were eating some pocky as usual. Seiren was standing next to a wall not far from her lord.

Zero did not want to be anywhere near the vampires, so he stood next to a chair that was set a bit away from the bloodsuckers. Yuki fidgeted a bit, unsure if she should stay next to her adopted brother, or be bold and sit next to Sayori-chan, whom she immediately took a liking too. In the end, she chickened out and took the seat next to Zero. Kaien on the other hand had no misgivings in staying close to his precious Night Class, and stood behind the couch both Purebloods occupied.

"What is that Sayori-chan, if you don't mind me asking?" the Chairman inquired to the object in the girl's hand. He would have called it a CD player, if not for the transparent circular layer floating on top of it.

"It's an upgraded CD player we lovingly call 'The Pensive', named after a magical object from an old film. In short, think of it as like being in a virtual reality. The video will produce a simulated environment that only exists in its memory, and we the viewers, can do nothing but watch the scene before us," Here, her face grew dim, "no matter how much we might want to stop it." Quickly finishing her work among the silence, she took the compact disk and set it inside the player and closed the lid.

The transparent layer glowed almost immediately. Blue runes began to materialize on its surface and slowly came together to form a runic globe. Everyone's gaze remained transfixed as the globe continued to hum an uncomprehending tune, before a light shot up into the ceiling and enveloped the room in a layer of white light. Moments later, the light faded, and everyone found themselves in an unfamiliar room with a stack of unopened boxes on one side, and a furnished desk with piles of paper on the other.

A large bookcase(which Seiren was leaning on) stood on the wall facing the desk, and the Night class found themselves sitting on soft green plush couches designed with little birds in an array of colors. As for Zero and Yuki, they found themselves sitting on the desk, and the brunette couldn't help but marvel on how nice it was. It was better looking than the Chairman's.

"Huh? Well that's odd, why are we in Aunt Maria's office?" questioned Sayori in confusion. "We were supposed to begin in a forest."

"Aunt Maria?" inquired Kaname, wondering who this person was.

"Kurenai Maria, the only child of the Kurenai noble line. She was born a very frail and ill vampire, and because of that, her parents are very overprotective of her, and are often worried about if she'll even have a future to look forward to," she replied sadly. At the corner of her eyes, she saw something flicker in Zero's eyes, but they immediately vanished. Inwardly smiling to herself, she wondered what his reaction will be when he sees who Maria eventually marries. Maybe shoot her machine? Oh, that was a big no-no.

"Uncle Zero, to make sure nothing happens to stop this video, do please relinquish your Bloody Rose to the Chairman. There are many contents in this video that without a doubt, provoke you into wanting to shoot something, mainly my Pensive, and I can't let you do that. Both vampires and hunters in the future would often tell stories of your legendary temper as a teen, and how quickly you would point that gun in front of any vampire's face that ended up angering you. So please?"

Here the vampires couldn't help but snicker, knowing full well that that statement held true. Zero growled, really not liking the idea of parting from the weapon that brought him comfort around these bloodsuckers. He tried glaring at Sayori in defiance, but those eyes, damn those eyes that continued to look at him with nothing but genuine warmth, was slowly wearing him down. He felt a tug on his sleeve and caught an encouraging expression on Yuki's face. And her eyes, the same warm eyes as Sayori's.

Zero felt his stomach drop. It had been a passing thought earlier, one that chilled him, but with the given facts, it was impossible. Sayori was Kuran's image through and through alright, but she was also a Pureblood. Yuki was human, so there was no way she was hers as well. But, for some reason, Sayori was reminding him more and more of Yuki, as she displayed the same kind of warmth. So what was going on? Not wanting to start an argument nor look like an ill-tempered child in front of the vampires, he reluctantly took Bloody Rose from inside his coat and gave it to the ex-hunter.

Kaien lovingly patted his son on the head like a good dog (he ignored the glare sent his way), and put the gun in his own pocket. As he did so, they heard footsteps coming from outside the simulated room. No one meant to, but they all tensed, wondering about what was going to happen. The entrance door gave way to a woman clothed in a light blue yukata, etched with little cute white rabbits and yellow flowers.

Long, straight grayish-purple hair and a dolly fringe up to eyebrow length, framed the sides of her pale heart-shaped face, with a small bun adorning the left side of her head. Her eyes were the same shade as her hair, and held a soft and demure look. She seemingly glided towards the boxes and kneeled down to open one with a knife. She seemed to not notice them.

"Aunt Maria," clarified Sayori on everyone's questioned look. "We were supposed to end up in a forest, but for some reason we're here in her office. I don't know the reason, as Aunt Maria was supposed to only stick mainly to the facts, but, it seems we'll be seeing first a clip of normalcy in this household before going on to more serious issues. Brace yourselves for what's about to come here, especially you, Uncle Zero." She could feel the prefect tense and emotions running wild in his mind, not only about her warning, but to whom Maria resembled.

She looked like _that_ woman, Zero thought. The moment that that Kurenai woman walked in, a strong case of deja vu hit him right in the gut. An image from the past of a Pureblood in a white kimono, of raining cherry blossoms blooming out of season, of chiming bells, bloody fangs, red burning eyes, bloody hands, corpses of his dead parents, and just blood everywhere. He now understood why Sayori wanted Bloody Rose taken from him, as he would of used it to break the video right there and then, just to rid himself of the image of the woman in front of them, and in turn, ridding the images of his past. He was burning hot, so much wanting to...

**"Maria-chan are you here?"** And just like that, a familiar voice roused Zero out of his dark thoughts and increasing anger. He turned to Yuki at first, but the girl just shook her head and pointed to the woman that appeared at the office door, her eyes wide, both from shock and recognition. His eyes followed suit, as well everyone else's in the room. Familiar pools of kind brown orbs met their gazes, as the eyes wandered around as if in search of something or someone. They lit up upon the sight of Maria who was now rummaging through the box she opened. The familiar woman _skipped_ towards the kneeling figure, her beautiful long waist length hair and white sun dress flowing gracefully behind her as she did so. **"There you are Maria-chan, I've been looking for you."**

**"Hello Yuki-chan,"** greeted Maria in kind, and unknowingly revealing the information everyone was thinking in their minds.

"Th-that's me?" breathed an astonished Yuki. That beautiful woman was her? She couldn't even fathom the idea that she would grow up to be that pretty as an adult. She believed to just grow up to look like any other normal average looking woman.

"Yes, that's you Yuki-chan, 5 years from now I believe," replied Sayori, smiling to herself at the way her Father was looking at the woman with longing, no doubt wanting to bite Yuki here and now and reveal her Pureblood heritage. All in due time, dear Father, all in due time.

"Wah, my precious Yuki-chan! Such a beautiful woman you've become, so elegant, so charming, and how pretty and shiny your hair's grown," gushed Kaien as he cuddled his embarrassed adopted child and shoot her older self with a starry expression, as well as ignoring the warning growl and glare his other adopted child sent his way.

"Man, who would have thought that such a scrawny girl would grow up to be such a babe," smirked Aidou as he stared appreciatively at the adult Yuki up and down. He was so transfixed with the adult version of the headmaster's daughter, that he missed the sound of Yuki's startlement, his cousin's warning call, and especially the murderous glares coming off a certain Pureblood and hunter in waves.

**"Was there something you wanted?"** They didn't want to, but both Kaname and Zero decided to let the blond off the hook for now and turn their attention back to the scene. Although, Kaname was mentally going to remind himself to have Aidou clean the bathrooms later. By himself and in a janitor's outfit.

"**I was worried. You seemed a bit upset ever since the meeting earlier.**"

"**I'm sorry, but I wanted to start preparing for my new assignment right away. Since my pregnancy, I'm no longer allowed to continue my patrolling duties. It makes me feel like I'm not doing anything productive for the group,**" Maria replied.

"Oh, she's going to be a mother!" exclaimed Yuki gleefully, but feeling a bit disappointed at not seeing a baby bump on the woman's stomach just yet.

"It's just recent, I think. Aunt Maria was going to have twins," commented Sayori. Zero tensed at the words 'twins', somehow feeling that he was about to find out something he would not like.

"Was?" Rima questioned at the young Pureblood. Sayori merely smiled sadly, making Zero tense even more.

"**Oh, don't feel that way, your dear husband's just looking out for you. Considering what happened in his past, he's doing all he can to make sure it doesn't happen again. I think he assigned you to do this job so that you wouldn't complain to him about not being useful. You wouldn't believe how utterly useless he is when dealing with emotional woman,**" Cross said with a mischievous grin. She then gave the other a gentle smile. "**He really does care for you Maria-chan, truly.**" And like magic, the others could tell she succeeded in bringing the yukata clad woman's spirits up.

"**Yeah, I know.**" It was unsettling on how kind of endearing it was to see the grey-eyed vampire act like a girl in love; her eyes dazed and her cheeks flushed with pink. Again, Zero had this strange feeling in this gut, especially after what Cross had just said.

"**Oh, and speaking of your dear husband, I think he's about to grace us with his presence,**" Cross grinned, causing the poor pregnant woman to blush even more. Clinking of boots could be heard coming their way, followed by a light knocking at the door. No one but Yuki saw the hunter tense, but she said nothing.

"**Maria, are you in here?**" A VERY familiar voice came from behind the door, lighter, and - dare they say - much softer, less gruff, and gentle. Zero did not want to believe it. Neither did Aidou.

"Is that..." Takuma trailed off as he took a glance towards Sayori's way. The girl again gave that teasing smile of hers, wishing to remain silent and let the others find out. They didn't have to wait long.

"**She's in here with me Zero, come on in!**" Cross practically chirped. The doorknob opened and revealed a handsome man with silver hair and striking lavender eyes. Upon seeing the two female vampires, Kiryu's face gave way to an expression that none of the vampires had ever seen him display. It was also an expression that Zero knew all too well and remembered; love, fondness, and warmth. His father had always been strict, but he didn't doubt the man cared greatly for him and Ichiru. And seeing his older self, it was like seeing his father's spitting image...with longer hair.

"Ah Zero-rin, how handsome you've grown! And you also nabbed yourself such a beautiful wife!" Everyone faltered as the headmaster broke the shocked trance everyone was in(and Zero's nostalgia), and they all sweatdropped as he tried to reach the hunter who was fighting with everything he had to keep his crazy guardian from smothering him with a bear hug.

"He's right though Zero, you've grown to be really handsome," remarked Yuki, ignoring her father who was now growing mushrooms at an occupied corner of the office. Zero merely flushed, and even more so when even Takuma and (shockingly) Rima said the same thing.

Secretly Kaname had a similar mindset, because it wasn't far from the truth. Kiryu looked calming, and held nothing of the anger that surrounded the younger one on a daily basis. Coupled that with the unique features of the Kiryu line, the soft expression on his face that even managed to ensnare the Pureblood's attention, and the appealing outfit of a white sleeveless turtleneck sweater - revealing his well built arms -, light gray pants, and white boots - not to mention the red sweat bands on each of his arms - the older Zero was something to completely marvel at. He had no shame in thinking such a thing about Kiryu-kun. Vampires did appreciate beauty after all, and despite his less than perfect demeanor, Kiryu-kun had it in abundance.

It was like the hunter had found some semblance of peace in his chaotic life, not only with himself, but also with a noble vampire at that. How utterly fascinating; the hunter who was well-known for his hatred of vampires, married to one in the future. Kiryu-kun must be on the brink of wanting to kill something, specifically the video recorder.

"**Ah, Zero, was there something you needed?**" Maria asked, obviously still quite flushed.

"**I was worried. You seemed a bit upset ever since the meeting earlier. I just decided now was a good time to check up on you**," Older Zero replied, concern shining in this eyes and voice as he stroked his wife's hair, something that further embarrassed the younger Zero. Dammit, everyone was sure to make fun of him, especially those infuriating leeches! And a vampire for a wife? His parents must be rolling in their graves in the future on his stupid decision. And his master, thank god Yagari-sensei was at the Association and wasn't with them at the moment. He would likely start him on another one of his lectures _again_ on why he should not be getting friendly with vampires.

"**Wow, déjà vu. I just said the same thing earlier,**" piped up Older Yuki. "**She's upset that you won't let her patrol anymore, and reduced her duty to simply just desk work.**"

"**I-I didn't say that! Well, at least not that last bit,**" Maria muttered in embarrassment, avoiding her husband's very striking eyes.

"**And you know why I did it right?**" Maria nodded, still not looking at her husband. The man sighed. He lifted his wife's chin up to meet his eyes and gave her a quick peck on the corner of her lips. Cross grinned like a Cheshire cat as she quickly snapped a picture with a camera she got out of nowhere.

"**Ze-Zero!**" the young noble squeaked in surprise, blushing like crazy. She was not the only one who stared at the man in shock, as everyone else did. Kaien grinned in delight.

"Ah, I get to witness Zero-rin's first kiss!"

"Shut up!" an indignant hunter yelled back as he kicked his crazy guardian across the room with no remorse. Kaien ended up landing just within distance of Seiren's reach. She only raised an eyebrow and shook her head.

"I wouldn't say it was his first kiss. He did have to kiss her during their wedding," commented Shiki in his monotone voice as he started munching on another pocky.

"Not to mention the _honeymoon_," Ruka decided to add salt to the hunter's wounds. She would admit that the prefect's unique appearance was his biggest highlight, as she did appreciate beauty like all vampires did, but Kiryu still will never be on par with Kaname-sama in her opinion. Now that was the person she couldn't wait to see as an adult. Maybe he'll show in this scene? It was a bit boring for her to watch such a mushy display between Kiryu and Kurenai, although it was sweet.

The dreaded 'W' letter followed up with the even dreaded 'H'. How fuck'en great, thought Zero. The nobles were really letting him have it tonight. It didn't help that that _person_ was someone he would potentially grow up as. But what about the promise he made to himself about killing himself after having his revenge against Hio Shizuka? What about his status of being a level D and satiating his bloodlust? His older self was still alive after 5 years and didn't look an ounce away from falling to the 'End'. Did he still drink from Yuki? How was he still sane?

So many questions kept plaguing his head, and Zero couldn't help but wanting to demand Sayori to answer all his questions. Hopefully this video did answer them, or he'd end up going crazy.

"**I'm always busy with my duties, but I'll make it up to you by taking you to tonight's festival. It'll be our second proper date, alright?**" Older Zero proposed as he kissed the side of her palm. He gave his wife another dazzling smile when she accepted his invitation. CLICK. He paused and threw Cross an annoyed look, who only smiled back widely. "**Yuki, I would have to say that you're as bad as Father Kaien, perhaps even worse.**" At the mention of his name from the adult Zero's lips, Kaien again glowed radiant. He had called him father! This didn't escape the younger Zero either, and he stared at his older counterpart in horror.

"**Only because you can't seem to bring yourself to deny my requests for more pictures. Thank you Zero!**" And she dramatically glomped him. "**Tee hee, you two are so cute together that I can't help but want to take photos of your precious moments.**"

"**That's an invasion of privacy.**"

"**Oh?" **Cross raised an eyebrow,** "and wasn't it an invasion of privacy when you were **_**spying**_** on MY first official date with Kaname?**" Another bombshell.

"WHAT!?" Aidou and Ruka both cried out in outrage, both from the mentioned date, and her calling Kaname's name so casually. They glared at the brunette prefect who squeaked in fear and hid behind Zero for protection. Zero in turn glared right back at them for scaring his _sister_ and then glared at the male Pureblood who was looking rather smug. He really really wanted Bloody Rose back.

"**I was only making sure he didn't try anything on the first date. In the end I regretting doing it, as I ended up getting cavities from watching you two being all mushy.**" TCross pouted, but then a wicked gleam entered her eyes as she went to glomp Maria.

"**Oh, but my dear Zero, both you and Kaname give ME cavities everytime you two act **_**mushy**_** together, right, Maria-chan? They can't seem to get enough of each other's attention, and their wandering hands don't seem to want to stay put.**" The biggest bombshell so far.

"What!?" muttered/shouted Kaname and Zero respectively. Sayori couldn't help it, seeing the mortified looks on her father and uncle's faces was just too funny. She burst out laughing in major fits, clutching her stomach and trying not to roll off the couch. Zero looked to his counterpart to see his reaction, and he felt his stomach drop at the slight widening of the other's eyes and the _huge_ blush on his face. Older Zero looked away from the two girls, trying to cover up his burning cheeks with his hand.

"**True, but I think it's cute. It's nothing to be embarrassed about or ashamed of Zero. You are still a healthy and hormone driven young man after all,**" Maria replied with a bright smile, not seemingly bothered about the fact that her husband was being touchy feeling with another male. Kiryu started sputtering as a merciless Cross and Maria started poking fun at their favorite hunter.

"Sayori, please _please_ tell me they're joking," Zero pleaded to the Kuran child. Kaname also looked to his daughter with a pleading look, yet behind them were piercing and expectant eyes. Calming down from her laughing fit, Sayori just gave both pitying glances that told them that it wasn't a joke at all. Both guys paled. Younger Yuki looked a bit torn; wanting to feel sorry for her two boys, but at the same time, feeling really intrigued at the possibility of them being future lovers. She had never seen a real life BL relationship before outside of manga books, and her two boys were _hot_.

"You're expecting us to believe that Kaname-sama and Kiryu have an illicit relationship in the future!?" demanded a particular blond to the young Pureblood, his rising emotions overriding his rational sense that he just talked back at a Pureblood. Hell would freeze over before he allowed the hunter to even try to seduce his precious lord. Most of the other vampires agreed, but Takuma seemed to be in deep thought.

"Oh no, it's nowhere near illicit. _Everyone_, both the vampire and hunter community, know about it and accept it, although it did take a bit of time." The two mentioned boys paled even more at that, as well as Aidou and Ruka. The other vampires just gave a raised brow.

"Why...how..." Zero was rendered speechless. He has a relationship with the older Pureblood in the future, at the same time he was married!? And everyone fucking knew and _accepted_ it? For real? "That's insane, illogical! What the hell is wrong with our future selves!? Better yet, what the hell is wrong with the future!? It seems to be more fucked up than only with the problem of these Duras we have yet to see!"

They didn't want to admit it, but everyone felt the same way. First, the hunter gets married to a noble vampire line, then said hunter finally refers to his guardian as 'father', then it's revealed that Cross Yuki ends up in some kind of relationship with Kuran Kaname, and finally the most impossible and illogical thing to happen, the vampire hating hunter is the future vampire king's 'not so secret' lover. What's next, the nobles becoming best friends with the ill-tempered hunter? Never in a million years!

Sayori shook her head at the demanding inquiries, quite ignoring the many displeased auras from the vampires, and instead turned her attention to the older Zero who was still pretty much red in the face.

"**Oh my, it seems you embarrassed Zero quite a bit Yuki-chan,**" remarked Maria in concern to her husband.

"**I'm afraid you did too Maria-chan**."

"**I did didn't I? Sorry Zero, I just couldn't resist**," apologized Maria, yet a small teasing smile lingered on her lips. Kiryu just patted her head as a kind gesture and to tell her that it was alright. Suddenly everyone saw him tense, followed momentarily by the two girls. Cross's mischievous smile returned and she winked at Kiryu suggestively. The blush that had started to settle down came back in full force. Older Yuki skipped to the entrance door and _flung_ it open, revealing an older and blinking Kaname who was just about to knock.

"**Kaname!**" the woman squealed as she glomped the male brunet. Older Kaname smiled.

"**Hello Yuki**," he replied, indulging the excited younger girl with a return hug and a small kiss on her forehead.

Both Aidou and Ruka's eyes glowed in awe. Future Kaname surely didn't disappoint their worshipping gaze. He was taller in height, his hair the same shade of brown, but shorter and less wavy. His russet-brown eyes still held its ability to entrance others, but the nobles notice that they seem much _brighter_ and vivid. He seemed..._lighter_, yet laced with emotions that none of them could fully identify.

"Kaname-kun has grown up handsomely as well," happily commented the Chairman as he caught the younger Kaname's eyes with a meaningful expression, "your future self resemble your father greatly." The male Pureblood nodded in acknowledgement, his smile soft, yet laced with bitterness. He looked to his older counterpart and thought that yes, he did look strikingly similar to his _father_, with his shorter hair and the gentle and kind smile that was a hundred percent genuine; free from falsehood, and free from hidden agendas.

And the way his older self gazed at Older Yuki with more love than ever, brought a sense of great hope to him. He didn't need anymore hints, he knew his dear girl had become his at the end. Sayori had his looks and the typical Kuran features, but she had gained Yuki's disposition. The smiles she had given to him from the past hour were Yuki's through and through, no doubt about it. But then he frowned.

His future relationship with Kiryu was a bother. He didn't know how his counterpart ended up making the hunter his willing lover, and for the hunter to even accept such a proposition, especially when he was also married and had twins on the way. Just as Kiryu had raged on earlier, almost everything in the future seemed completely messed up and illogical. He sighed. Hopefully all unanswered questions will soon come in fruition as they continued watching this video.

Yuki breath was again taken away by the sight of the future Kuran, just like it did with the future Zero, and her future self. Seriously, the future might have sounded crazy so far, but it seemed to do many wondrous things to her precious boys. Older Kaname-sempai looked much more open with his feelings with the way his eyes didn't have the shadow hanging over them, and he seemed to be truly happier than he was now.

It was the same with Zero. He was less tense, looked less angry at the world, and he didn't seem to have a huge problem with vampires anymore, seeing as he cared for Kurenai Maria a great deal and having Kaname-sempai as a lover. She wished and hope, that as terrible as the future might end up, these two will grow up to be like their older counterparts, and start to get along. She wasn't asking them to be lovers if they didn't want to, but maybe as good friends?

**"What brings you here Kaname-sama?" **Maria inquired the Pureblood. Said vampire looked up and motioned her to come forward. Obliging, Maria's head was soon found under her lord's large hand, stroking her head as the older Zero did earlier. He gave her a kind smile.

**"You looked upset earlier during the meeting about your change of occupation. I would apologize about upsetting you, but I am not very sorry that we put you in this job. Besides the issue with your pregnancy, your ability will be very useful for this. You understand right?"** The voice was kind, yet firm in the older Pureblood's words. Cross grinned, and the others saw her hold Kiryu's hand in a tight grip, keeping him from trying to run away from embarrassment it seemed.

**"Woah, double déjà vu huh Maria-chan? Even Kaname was worried enough to come here and make sure you were alright."** Maria just smiled and bowed to the Pureblood.

**"I appreciate it Kaname-sama, but both Yuki-chan and especially Zero have managed to cheer me up already. Please do not worry, I will do my new duties with as much fervor as I did with my old one."**

**"That's good to hear," **Kuran replied. It was then he turned his eyes towards the future hunter who was avoiding his gaze and still quite flushed. **"Zero?" **Younger Zero started (as well as the others except Sayori) as he heard his _first _name coming out of the older Pureblood's mouth.

What. The. Fucking. Hell?

The younger Kaname frowned when he saw the spark of _happiness_ and _fondness _enter his counterpart's eyes. He still could not fathom the idea of him ever greatly caring for the hunter past the acquaintance level, and he knew that Kiryu as well felt the same. So how did the both of them ever start their _not so_ illicit relationship?

**"Zero, why so quiet?"** Everyone watched with rapt attention - either in horrid, disbelief, or awed fascination - when Kuran reached out and combed his fingers through the other's silver white hair in such a _loving_ gesture. **"And why is your face quite red?" **

Zero's stomach plummeted when his future self did nothing but close his eyes and enjoy the attention, like a pet being showered with affection by his beloved master. He then became mortified when he suddenly heard his future self purr. _Purr_ for goodness sake! A hand then ruffled through his own hair, similar to what the future Pureblood was doing to his counterpart.

"Yuki, just what the hell are you doing?" he inquired tersely to his _sister_. Yuki seemed put off all of a sudden and lowered her hand.

"I wanted to see if you would really purr if I did that. Guess not." Zero gave her an incredulous look. Seriously?

"That's such a great idea Yuki-chan! I'm sure you're just not touching in the right place. Come here my adorable son, let Papa find that certain sweet and pleasureable sp- " Everyone winced when the Chairman was sent colliding at a bare section of a simulated wall, quite harshly. They couldn't blame the hunter this time, the Chairman had gone overboard with that one. Still, some of the vampires gave discreet looks towards the fuming prefect, wondering...

**"You don't look to have a fever..." **the other trailed off before taking a glance towards Cross who only gave him an innocent look. No one was fooled for a second though, especially seeing the playful glint in her eyes. **"Oh I see, was dear Yuki poking fun at you again?"** Kiryu's blush intensified even more as he gave a groan that seemed to mean, 'yes'.

**"Tattletale!" **Future Yuki mocked pouted. Future Kaname just gave a heartful chuckle.

**"How cute. Would a kiss make you feel all better?" **the older vampire asked with such a lewd voice, bringing his face closer to his lover's own. This caused both Zeros - not to mention a lot of the others in the room - to blush bright red at the mere suggestion and the intense look in the elder Pureblood's eyes.

**"NO!" **Younger Zero was so relieved when his counterpart pushed Kuran away. He really didn't need to see a scene of the both of them sucking each others' faces, and he was sure the others in the room would agree with him...

Huh? Why did Yuki look so put out?

**"Well, isn't that a pity,"** replied the older Kuran, giving off a serene smile, although his eyes gave a glint of playfulness. Future Zero glared in annoyance, but it looked more like a pout, especially with his face still a bright red.

**"Spoilsport!" **whined Cross and Maria at the loss of a chance to watch another steamy show between their two boys.

Younger Yuki secretly sympathized with them, but blushed deeply at the thought of her dear boys making out in front of them. True, she harbored a huge crush on Kaname-sempai for the longest time, but there were times she had fantasized of both Kaname-sempai and Zero being together, and doing things. All the anger the two displayed at each other, Yuki's mind always perceived it as sexual frustration. Hey, it couldn't be helped, as she was a closet BL fangirl. Only Yori knew about it thank god.

**"Shut up you two! And you!" **Kiryu jabbed a finger at the still smiling Kuran, **"I'm positive that you coming over to reassure my wife about her new job isn't why you're here. And telling me that you just came to seek me out and harrass me is not a good answer either!"** Well, thought younger Zero, some things at least hadn't changed; Kuran seemed to still love humiliating him in front of others. It was just a matter of using a different approach. He looked at the younger Kuran and glared at his direction. Kaname saw this and merely raised an eyebrow. Zero frowned before turning away in distaste. He didn't see the smirk Kaname gave to his response.

**"I passed by your office earlier. I came to inquire why Takamiya-san was doing your paperwork."** Younger Zero perked up. Were they talking about Kaito?

**"Again Zero? What did he do this time?" **questioned Cross with an exasperated sigh.

Younger Zero raised an eyebrow. What did she mean by again? Well, Kaito did like causing other people headaches with some of his 'charming' personality. No doubt he'd be especially happy if he gave one to vampires on a daily basis. And he did like teasing him a lot when they were still kids.

**"Remember that spell he was trying to improve on?" **Cross only tilted her head to the side as if trying to remember, but it seemed the older Kuran knew what was being spoken about.

**"The spell that's used to restrain low class Duras with."** Older Zero nodded, although still looking a bit miffed with the other.

**"The idiot said that he managed to make the spell stronger, so he asked if he could show it to me. I was hesitant at first, but he was being insistent so I accepted. I regretted it the moment the spell started to fluctuate and turn red. I was able to cast a protection spell over the both of us in time so we wouldn't end up being burned, but..."** at this, Older Zero's expression then morphed into a 'kicked puppy' look, causing the viewers to be taken aback. Did the older Kiryu look like he was about to cry?

Both younger Zero and Kaname twitched - oh, and Aidou and Ruka too, but they were also glaring at the younger hunter's way, although _sadly_ it was ignored - when the older Kuran began to caress the older silver-haired man's face in a seemingly comforting way.

**"Zero, tell me what happened." **

**"The couch."** Everyone paused. What?

**"The couch?"**

**"The spell destroyed the couch in my office,"** Older Zero explained in a sullen voice. This caused the viewers to sweat drop. Really, he was being all angst over a piece of furniture? Cross's eyes narrowed.

**"The one Kaname and I bought for you? The one that's so comfortable that almost everyone tried to sneak into your office just to take a nap on on their break? The one where I like doing my paperwork on? The one where you and Kaname secretly like having se -"** Maria quickly tried to cover Cross's mouth with her hands, but she knew the damage had been done when Kiryu's pink blush turned bright red. Kuran coughed to hide his chuckle.

The viewers were shocked at Cross's last bold sentence, but both Zero and Kaname had paled upon hearing the unfinished word. They didn't need Cross to finish her sentence to know what she was about to say. Sayori paled too, but for a completely different reason. Both of them actually had sex on that couch!? Oh frick, a lot of people liked sleeping on it! Her included. If she had found out about this earlier, she would have stayed far far away from the nice looking...soft...sofa...dammit!

**"Yuki-chan, I'm pretty sure we know what couch you're talking about. No need to go into further details, and I think you shouldn't purposely continue to fluster Zero like that." **The others saw Cross blink before momentarily smirking. She then smiled brightly - a little too brightly - with sparkles twinkling around her head. Kiryu made an indignant noise and glared darkly at the smiling brunet, but it didn't seem to affect her at all.

**"Don't worry about it Zero, I'll just have it replaced okay?" **Kaname spoke as he tried to pacify the other. It worked...sorta, since Kiryu's glare didn't fully diminish, but it did soften. **"This time though, why don't we give it some custom prints? We wanted to last time, but since we were pressed for time, Yuki and I had to leave it a plain color. What would you like? Flowers? Rainbows? Or maybe puppies and kittens?" **Cue the viewers sweat dropping.

**"How about none of the above?" **A mocking reply.

**"Birds? Mosaic? Stripes? Roses?"**

**"You already mentioned flowers."**

**"Only for general flowers. I'm being specific with roses."**

**"Why am I not surprised? Just leave it a plain color. The same color as before."**

**"That would be boring. How about blue roses then for a bit of mystery?"**

**"It's MY couch, so I'm telling you to just leave it plain!" **And from there, Kuran threw more options while Kiryu either rebuked, commented, or denied back the choices.

Zero couldn't help but stare incredulously at Kuran and then at the guy's younger self. Looking at younger Kaname's face, he also seemed to be weirded out at the scene. Really, what in the world happened to have changed them so much if both their future selves could so easily talk with each other in such a friendly manner, and without Bloody Rose being brought to the pureblood's face when the hunter was annoyed?

**"A combination of blue roses, doves, and asian type patterns. Got it?...Okay, I'll come by tomorrow to see your ideas on the arrangements." **_Click_. Cross shut her phone and put it back into her bag - where did that come from? **"Don't worry Zero, I'll make sure that your new couch will be very pretty, yet still very comfortable for the both of you!" **she chirped without any shame in what she had implied...again. Kiryu sighed.

**"I can't win can't I?" **

**"Nope!"** a sparkling smile. **"Anyways, Maria-chan and I should start getting ready for the festival tonight. Maria-chan, you can start your work tomorrow, tonight's going to be nothing but having fun!" **Both girls cheered while the guys looked on with small smiles.

**"It'll be a double date!" **Cross exclaimed as she bounded over to Kuran and glomped him. **"Zero and Maria, me and Kaname!"** Everyone saw Kuran smile tenderly at the brunet. It wasn't a new sight, but still, both Aidou and Ruka couldn't help but give another glare to the female prefect. Yuki gave an uncomfortable chuckle as she slowly hid behind Zero again. Wow, just how in the word did she become so bold in the future? It would really help her later on, especially against Zero's death glare, and not to mention those fangirls. **"But of course it won't be like that at the end, right Maria-chan?"** The female noble seemed to know what the other was talking about and nodded happily.

**"Most definitely." **Cross then pulled away from Kuran, and in synch, both girls pushed a protesting Kiryu into Kuran's awaiting arms. The man merely smiled _lovingly_ at the silveret in his embrace. Zero really wanted to shoot something; the younger pureblood was at the very top of the list, but his so called adoptive father was getting up there pretty fast as well, since the guy was in the background gushing about how much his two children have grown in the future. Kiryu was back again to blushing madly and tried his best to give a death stare to his wife and best friend. **"After I'm done with him, he's all yours for the rest of the **_**night**_** Kaname-sama!"**

**"MARIA!"**

**"Don't worry, I'll take VERY good care of him Maria-chan," **Kuran replied, his voice full of promises of...well...this and that. If possible, Kiryu's blush turned several shades darker, and many angry tic marks started to appear. Quicker than any of the viewers could follow, Kuran had loosened his hold on Kiryu with a slightly painful look on his face, his hand holding his stomach from the strong punch to his gut. The silver-haired man tore himself away from his captor and angrily strode towards the door.

**"Maria, we'll leave at six so be ready by then!" **And with that, the highly embarrassed hunter loudly slammed the door shut behind him, leaving behind a chuckling lover and a giggling wife and best friend. Not to mention an audience with varying expressions of shock, amusement, surprise, and annoyance.

**TBC...**

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**Author's Notes: **And I'll leave it right there. There was supposed to be a final scene in the memory between Kaname and Maria, but this chapter was getting a bit lengthy so I decided put it up for the next one. Also, I made you guys wait longer than I planned since I was putting more of my attention on my Reborn! fanfiction. If you're interested in that series too, then please don't forget to check out my story 'The Second Coming'.

I'm sure all of you are wondering about the wacky interactions of the future quartet. That's why they're the main focuses in the memories that will be shown later on. But don't worry, the others will get screen time too as they are important for future developments. So, an illicit relationship between two enemies? How could that have happened when they hate each other so? And why did both vampires and hunters end up turning a blind eye towards it? Looks like you guys get to do a lot of brainstorming ideas. Have fun with that ^^

Now some questions for you to answer...if you want to, but it does help give me some good feedback.

**Questions**

1) To differentiate the memory dialogues with the normal ones, I put them as bold, do you thing it's okay like that?

2) Do you think you can guess the other main anime series that will make their appearance in this story? All of you guessed right on 'Betrayer Knows My Name' aka 'Uraboku'. The hint for the other one is in the preview below.

3) What's your opinions on the relationship between Zero, Kaname, Yuki, and Maria's future selves? Like it? Dislike it? Confused with it?

4) If you haven't tried to answer last chapter's previous questions, you are welcome to do so.

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NEXT:

_"Reckless as always Zero. What ever should I do with you?" _

_Everyone turned to the familiar voice, and a majority of the hunters and vampires bowed in respect at the approaching woman. The silver hunter gulped._

_"Li-Lilith-sama."_

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**Scene 4:**

Our War Story Begins

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Please read and review!


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